Competition in September - October 2021 for a landscape design with artwork in a public square, Sana’a Square in Riyad, Saud Arab.
Artist impression of the Pulsating Universe proposal - Render by Acrush
Artist: Leif Bolter, Stockholm, Sweden.
Fabricator and project management: Acrush AG, Zurich, Switzerland.
Landscape design: AJ Landskap AG, Stockholm, Sweden.
Winddancer structure: Mitekgruppen ab, Stockholm, Sweden.
Pulsating Universe structure: Glass & Swinging Structures bv, G&SS, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Schematic section of the Pulsating Universe. Drawing by Acrush.
Sana’a Square is a highway intersection on the Southern Ring Road of Riyad. The design team worked out, under guidance of Leif Bolter, the Pulsating Universe sphere in the center of the Square. Directly around the Pulsating Universe solar panels, providing energy for the system. Then a circle of cypress trees in a bowl shape and at the edge a circle of large Pinea trees placed in a grid. In between the two tree circles twelve Winddancers are placed. The twelve Winddancer are composed from a 35 meters tall mast and, placed on top of this mast, a slender, semicircular arc of 30 meters width that rotates in the wind.
The sphere
The Pulsating Universe, an important concept in the work of Leif Bolter, is a 60 meters diameter spherical frame work of bars composed from interlocking circles in two perpendicular planes. In the center of the sphere hangs a cylindrically shaped horizontal tube that connects the sphere to a large mast with a height of 50 meters. The elements of this structure are carbon fiber wrapped aluminum tubes and tension rods. On each connection point in this structure a programmable led lighting system is placed. These are Interconnected to create a pattern of pulsating lights representing the Universe.
The structure
G&SS dimensioned the Pulsating Universe and made a 3D computer Finite Element Calculation to check the chosen dimensions and resulting deformations. By working out the structure we proposed to make all the masts out of ocean-purpose windmill columns with an additional foundation.
Unfortunately we got the disappointing message that we did not win the competition.